The suspended CEO of the Transnet Ports and National Authority (TPNA), Pepi Silinga is at the centre of an alleged smear campaign to discredit senior colleagues at the state-owned entity.
Silinga was suspended by the board of directors in March together with two other managers over allegations of awarding a tender to the service provider, of R80-million but which later ballooned to more than R300-million.
Since his suspension, Silinga has allegedly been working behind the scenes with officials aligned to him at Transnet to discredit and engineer the demise of the CEO and acting chief executive of TPNA.
Insults fly
In WhatsApp messages seen by Sunday World, which have been confirmed to have been sent by Silinga, he called TPNA boss, advocate Phyllis Difeto a “prostitute”.
In another WhatsApp message in the group chat, he said Transnet CEO Michelle
Phillips was appointed to the executive position by late public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan, whom he called “Charo” and President Cyril Ramaphosa because she is white.
Charo is a term often used derogatorily towards people of Indian descent.
In one WhatsApp message, Silinga said he was going to get more information from officials who work at TPNA to discredit Difeto.
“I’m going to get more information from Menzi and I have also send (sic) an email with a whole lot of intelligence on that prostitute to Sue Albertyn (Transnet’s HR general manager). That will either leak it or start her own investigation,” reads one of the WhatsApp messages sent from Silinga’s number.
On the other end, the person who is communicating with Silinga asks: “Which prostitute is this now? Phyllis?” To which Silinga responded: “Yes, she is not listening at all and has started her own side investigation against some of my things and reversing them.”
Still in charge
Silinga also wrote on WhatsApp attacking Phillips, saying that despite being on suspension, he was “still very much in charge of Transnet”.
“Michelle (Phillips) is as a placeholder, f**k the union, they mean little nothing. No one there knows how to rescue this but me. I’m coming back and all this nonsense will stop. Michelle’s record is dismal from get go, everywhere she has been, had to do with her skin colour and not competence. For that Charo (Gordhan) to have appointed her it’s a disgrace and ridiculous at best and at worst.
“It showed both CR (Ramaphosa) and Pravin (Gordhan) wanted to run down Transnet in order to privatise it. There is no any other reason. That woman can’t even lead cows to the dam, let alone a spaza shop,” said Silinga in one of the messages.
Phillips and Difeto did not respond to questions sent directly to them.
Transnet group spokesperson Ayanda Shezi on the matter said: “Mr Silinga is best positioned to respond to comments attributed to him.”
Pillar to post
Silinga referred Sunday World to his lawyers Cowan-Harper-Madikizela Attorneys for a comment. However, the law firm sent our enquiry to Transnet lawyers Bowmans, who are also acting as investigators in Silinga’s case.
“We have received the below email query from the Sunday World requesting our client’s comments as they want to publish a story about, inter alia, his suspension.
“As you are aware, the allegations contained in the email query below are entirely false. We have made it unequivocally clear to Transnet that these allegations are false and without basis. As you are aware and based on the conditions of our client’s suspension, he is prohibited from making any public statement, including responding directly to the Sunday World.
“Transnet is required to give Sunday World correct information or allow our client to
respond,” said Mbulelo Ndlovu of CHM.
In response to CHM, Khomotso Makapane of Bowmans said: “We have been instructed to inform you, as we hereby do, that your client has permission to respond to the Sunday World queries.”
Character assassination claims
CHM lawyer Mbulelo Ndlovu said that Silinga “categorically denies that he ever sent that WhatsApp message.” Nldovu said the “WhatsApp message purported to be sent from his private cellphone is a desperate attempt to tarnish his character.
“Our client has been made aware of attempts to hack and create a duplicate WhatsApp profile. It is this WhatsApp profile that seems to be used to send messages to various people, purporting to be coming from our client.
Upon being informed of the WhatsApp messages that were in circulation, as his attorneys we formally advised Transnet, categorically confirming that our client has nothing to do with these WhatsApp messages and their disparaging and libellous (sic) content.”
Ndlovu added that Silinga has reported the matter to the South African Police Service and that a case was opened but did not provide a case number and questioned “why the alleged recipients of the WhatsApp messages remain unknown to assist with the discovery of the actual source, as the true properties of the source would be discoverable.”
